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by Ellepige



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Blackwatch Era, Cybernetics, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gritty, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Sad, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 09:40:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10554166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellepige/pseuds/Ellepige
Summary: It's small comfort, really. But that's all McCree can provide at the moment.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> As most of us probably have, I did read the new "Uprising" comic and I had to write something about this. It's dark, but not as dark as I first intended it to be.  
> I'm sorry that they can't be happy in this.

"He's still a person, boss." McCree tries to keep up with Reyes as he paces through the dimly-lit halls of the building.  
"Acknowledged, McCree. Dismissed." There is an hard edge to the veteran's voice, and there is blood on his knuckles. Jesse knows this state of mind, he's seen his commander do this very same thing more than once. He shuts himself out, just to get into the mindset to be able to do what has to be done. McCree is not as good at it, he still feels his hands tremble when he hands over a pair of pliers or a bottle of antiseptic spray. He still retches at the stench of people in pain, a mixture of sweat, blood and piss, drawn in in too short, panicky gasps.  
Suddently, Reyes stops and Jesse almost runs into him, catches himself just in time. Dark eyes stare at him, as if the other man just now remembers that he isn't alone, then his broad chest heaves with one heavy breath. Gabriel looks tried, there is too much to do with the limited resources of Blackwatch, they are monitoring a lot of shit right now, but every mission seems to bring up more. Accusations of corruption, mistrust towards Overwatch. The deaths of their agents.

"Go see it. But be careful," the commander orders. "Take care of it if neccessary, you know I'll back you up."  
"'s what you always do, jefe," McCree manages with a small, faltering smile. It. Genji Shimada. Their newest, and, arguably, most dangerous asset. He, corrects Jesse in his thoughts. "I'll go have a lil chat with him. Can't hurt to try." Somehow he makes this sound light. As if he isn't terrified of what he will find in Shimada's cell.

Genji's problem is that he doesn't cooperate and that Reyes doesn't trust him. In their field of work, their commander has to make sure that there are no risk factors within their teams and a cyborg losing its cool amongst their lines counts as a risk that can't be ignored. A risk they can't take. Jesse still thinks about the blood on Reyes's hands as he walks back to the cell where they keep Shimada. The man might be a cyborg, but apparently he can still bleed. Count on Gabriel Reyes to discover stuff like this.  
The door slides open with a soft hiss and Jesse's spurs ring as he steps into the room. There's no stench of filth, no stale sweat, but blood and something that makes him think of his visits to the infirmary. The once proud son of the Shimada clan is a crumpled form on the ground, weirdly still except for the occasional twitch of his fingers. Blood dries on the floor around him, smudged by frantic movements, it seems. Jesse doesn't step closer, he stays next to the door. Genji Shimada was a killer before they brought him here and enhanced what was left of his body with cybernetics. Reflex boosters, artificial muscles that would never be sore or tired, a lot of other stuff Gabriel mentioned to him before. McCree never really listened, for he did neither care nor understand what those terms meant. It all boiled down to one thing: Shimada was even more dangerous in his current state. More machine than human, that was how Reyes put it.

"Does he send you to try and break me, now?" The cyborg's voice, despite his condition, sounds surprisingly soft, almost gentle. For a moment, Jesse wonders if there is some truth to Genji's assumption, but then he shakes his head. Gabriel would never use him in such a way. He is manipulative, true, but never when it concerns his own men.  
"I'd rather we skip these petty games and get to it," the young Shimada continues wearily and pushes himself up on his one human arm. The rest of his body remains strangely limp and now McCree understands why.  
"He switched off this thing?" He gestures towards the mechanical parts of Genji's body and stops when he sees something akin to hurt, and maybe shame, flit over the ruined features. As he looks up again, the cyborg snarls at him.  
"Yeah, seems like he switched off this thing," he spits. "Convenient, isn't it. If only you could switch off my mind the same way. Don't know, maybe some drugs will do the trick? Maybe surgery, to cut out my personality? Fucking impressive heroes you are." No matter how strong his human part is, Genji can't keep himself upright for long, he crashes back onto the ground a few moments later. The sound of his head thudding against the vinyl flooring is almost sickening and McCree dares to step closer now, careful, as if he's approaching a wounded animal.

Right now, he wishes he never said anything. Not to Reyes and not to Shimada. Fuck him and his big mouth.

Amber eyes keep track of his movement, unblinking, almost dead. They match the listless body. Jesse feels nauseous as he takes in the traces his boss left, bruises on Genji's skin, blood that dries on his soft-looking lips. It's not much, physically. But Reyes rarely needs to use much force, it's his words that cut deep. He can see it in Shimada's stare, in the small shivers that run over his back, in the tears and saliva that dry on his marred cheeks. He was able to hear it in his words before.

"What are you waiting for, asshole? You've fallen asleep up there?" It's as if the man wants to be hurt. And maybe that is really the case. McCree wouldn't let Genji have it his way.  
"Why are you making this so hard for yourself?"  
"What do you know of this, hm? What does scum like you know of me?" Genji's hand twitches once more and with a swiftness that seems to defy his sorry state, he reaches forwards, grabs the leg of Jesse's jeans. His knuckles turn white as he clings to the fabric. McCree shifts slightly and watches Genji screw his eyes shut, as if he's expecting getting kicked for his behaviour. It doesn't happen, of course, as Jesse just shakes off the offending hand and leans against the closest wall.

"I know that we both know where this is going to end if you keep misbehaving," the Blackwatch agent finally sighs. "And you're not talking to Angela about what happens here. Suppose that's some kind of honor thing."  
"That woman knows exactly what happens here. I don't need to whine about it in front of her." Genji swallows soundly, as if even talking is taking a toll on him right now. "It's not like I can't take it."  
"Why take it when you don't have to? Reyes isn't half bad," at this, the cyborg laughs, but Jesse continues. "If you work with him and not against him." He knows best, he had his own difficult phase, though it probably wasn't was bad as Genji's.

"That man is a fucking psychopath. He..." The younger man's voice, already muffled because his mouth rests against the floor, breaks as his human hand clutches the chassis of the cybernetic armor, right above the Blackwatch symbol on the hard carbon fiber. "Fuck!" Short fingernails scratch uselessly over the smooth, perfect surface, find the spot where man and machine meet and worm their way into the resilient scar tissue.  
McCree is there in the moment Genji's fingertips press down his flesh, he can hear the cyborg moan and yanks his hand away before Genji manages to hurt himself even more. The slender fingers, still calloused where they were used to wield a sword, turn into claws that try to tear though Jesse's skin.  
"Stop it," the agent demands, but the young Shimada seems to be lost in his own thoughts.  
"He branded me. Like some filthy animal." And McCree understands. He didn't feel like it when he first got his Deadlock tattoos, but after he left the gang, he noticed how it made him feel dirty. Defined by the black ink under his skin, marked as a criminal. Does Genji feel the same about the Blackwatch crest over his heart? The next sentences, breathless and incoherent, he doesn't understand. It's japanese, too quick and confusing for him to translate with his limited vocabulary.

Reyes didn't send him here to break Genji. He sent him to pick up the pieces.

Carefully, he touches the shoulder of his comrade. As Genji doesn't flinch, he pulls him upright, still aware of the risk of the cyborg attacking him.  
"You need to rest," he murmurs as he finally lifts the heavy body and pulls it over to the small cot. Genji sobs quietly as he is placed on the thin mattress and Jesse can't help but feel pity for this lonely young man. He covers the foreign body with a blanket before he sits down on the edge of the bed and rests his elbows on his knees.  
"I know you want to go home. I also know that there is no home for you. Your brother tried to kill you. Almost succeeded at it, too. Blackwatch won't be a new home for you. We're not here to comfort you or cater to your wishes. But you have a chance here. Reyes ain't gonna give you anything out of pity. But nobody else will give you a better chance at making things right again. Respect him, earn his trust and he won't let you down."

It's small comfort, really. But that's all McCree can provide at the moment. He hopes that Genji will understand it soon, before it's too late. Before Gabriel's patience wears thin. The whole Shimada project is a waste of money if their cyborg doesn't cooperate and he knows, even without his commander telling him, that there are already people who want to shut down the whole thing and put Genji out of his misery. Even Reyes can only do so much should that happen.

He isn't even sure if the cyborg listened to him, but as he opens the door again to leave the cell, he notices the slight movement under the blanket. At least he was awake during his little sermon.  
Jesse lights a cigarette as soon as he steps out of the building, hoping that the nicotine will calm his nerves. There are more pieces to pick up right now, he knows that too well and it is his sense of duty that makes him head for Reyes's quarters instead of his own.


End file.
